| Musical Style: Classic Hard Rock | Produced By: Bob Brooks |
| Record Label: Tunesmith / Retroactive | Country Of Origin: USA / Canada |
| Year Released: 1981 / 2006 | Artist Website: Servant |
| Tracks: 9 | Rating: 80% |
| Running Time: 37:27 |
Servant 1981 sophomore album Rockin’ Revival features advanced songwriting and stronger production when placed alongside 1979 debut Shallow Water. Not that Shallow Water is any way bad - a fine effort on its own (noting the 75% Angelic Warlord review) - with a solid track listing and sound that is by no means flawed. Rockin’ Revival, however, takes things to the next level with fuller production allowing a cleaner lead guitar and keyboard mix not to mention further impact afforded rhythm guitar and low end. Added inspiration also imparts songwriting, which builds upon the groups innovative and creative flair resulting in several songs recognized as concert staples and Servant classics.
Musically, Rockin’ Revival picks up where Shallow Water leaves off with a sturdy hard rock foundation entwined with classic rock particulars. If anything Rockin’ Revival proves fittingly entitled in elevating guitar driven fortitude and giving rise to some of the heaviest moments in Servant’s six-album career. No, the album does not rock to quite the same extent as those from contemporaries Resurrection Band, Daniel Band and Barnabas but makes a bold and assertive statement all the same.
It also highlights a bolstered keyboard sound, noting the addition of newcomer and keyboard wiz Matt Spransy. Spransy was part of a late seventies Joliet, Illinois progressive rock band also called Servant (often referred to as Joliet-Servant) with Doug Pinnick (King’s X). When Joliet-Servant disbanded in 1980, Spransy saw Servant in Chicago and donated his truck and sound equipment to the band prior to joining the subsequent year in time to record Rockin’ Revival.
Rockin’ Revival saw initial release with the ‘revival meeting in the farmhouse’ cover art but was rereleased a year later with a montage of live photos for the cover instead. Yes, the ‘live’ cover is more eye-catching, but in my opinion, the ‘farmhouse’ cover is a better indicator of what the group was attempting to capture at the time. The Retroactive Records 2006 reissue to Rockin’ Revival includes the ‘live’ cover in addition to featuring re-mastering from Rev At Creation Station Media and several previously never seen band photos.
Said advancement in songwriting reveals in creativity to albums first four tracks. “Babylon” immediately shines as an anthem hard rocker, empowered by in and out of the mix rhythm guitar and rolling drums only to gain further force as efficient bass impels the mix. The piano driven ‘look out Babylon’ refrain echoes of the boogie flavored. In between, classic tenor vocalist Bob Hardy shines by imparting the songs message speaking to current events then and now:
To the north the sleeping bar awakens
The sun is rising in the east
Will the Pharaoh cross the Red Sea
As they gather for the feast
It was written long ago
It comes as no surprise
That where the oil flows the most
Is where the tension lies
Look out Babylon…
Note: There seems to be some confusion as to the songs correct title. CD version and online resources list it as “Look Out Babylon”. However, it is ”Babylon” on my vinyl copy, so “Babylon” it is!
Albums title track follows in a more melodic heading. “Rockin’ Revival” flows effortlessly from the get go, instilling through AOR infused verse sections with lyrics that speak to the heart:
I’ve worked hard for Jesus, I’ve given Him all I got
Bit I still do things without Him, And have to ask Him to bail me out
I slack off on reading my Bible, I think I got it all in my head
I was working things out my own way, Now I’m letter Him guide me instead
Refrain stays the AOR course mirroring the beguiling melody as keyboards dance in the backend. Sandie Brock stands out with her raspy but soulful vocal abilities.
“Isolated” touches upon a dramatic rock formula. With drummer David Holmes imparting his high-end vocal abilities, song accents a heavy but correlative dose of Spransy’s keyboards over a crunchy rhythm guitar basis. Catalyst is of the affected as church organ and choir vocals reach a crowning conclusion at the end. The theatrical feel reminds of Bloodgood.
A four-minute metal fury storm ensues with “Heidelberg Blues”. This is heavy as it gets far as Servant goes, as the blowing wind shrouding the opening seconds recedes to sculpted guitar, with the riffs to command crazily catchy and airy ‘ooh ooh whoo’ backing vocals equally beguiling. Occasional piano and down tuned feedback speak of bluesy metal at its finest. Guitar team of Bruce Wright and Owen Brock get quite the workout on this one!
Closing first side is “Listen”, a three-minute melodic hard rocker that might back from some of the energy and sinew to its predecessors but is solid all the same. The groups ever present vocal melodies shine, as does the streaming keyboards and organ not to mention softer but distinguished rhythm guitar. Lead guitar touches upon a Southern influence. “Listen” reinforces a kingdom-based approach to life (quoting albums liner notes):
Listen, can you hear Him
Listen, what He’s saying is so clear
Listen, come on and open up
And hear what He wants you to hear
Maybe you can find a way
To listen and obey
Maybe you can hear
Exactly what He is trying to say
A finely done cover to the Eddie Money classic “Jealousies” opens the second. Servant rendering backs from the pop tendencies to the original and approaches from a progressive standpoint with an added bent to tempo and forward keyboards. Lead guitar replaces saxophone for the instrumental moments. Group lends its creative edge over the final minute and half with a bass driven passage in which keyboards interlace with open-air vocals. Song delivers a meaningful message:
Russia and China too
Will the US don’t know what they’re gonna do about each other
There’s a chance of a third world war and it scares me
Cause I’ve heard news of Hiroshima
Well I’m living in a world where no one’s first
Where angry arms can open and embrace
Where men can live together, loving one another
This is what we seek from you and me brother
Note that the song originally appeared on Money’s self-titled debut album from 1977 but misspelled as “Jealousys”, while the Servant rendering correctly entitles it “Jealousies”.
Lone skip button ensues in “Suburban Josephine”. Not that the song is flawed, but rather I find the 50’s ‘doo wop’ style difficult to identify and impresses as more than a little campy. I consider it more a ‘novelty song’ along similar lines as Deliverance’s “Chipped Beef” (off What A Joke from 1991)- you get a laugh at first but pass on subsequent listen. I would much rather heard a cover to the Larry Norman classic “Why Should The Devil Have All The Good Music” (off Only Visiting This Planet from 1972), a Servant concert staple.
Rockin’ Revival ends strongly over its final two songs beginning with the awesome “Ad Man”. With a voice synthesizer lending a classic rock vibe, song traverses the heavier as more than ample rhythm guitar and rollicking piano embolden the acerbic punch to take hold. Voice-synthesizer further reinforces the songs message in regards to ‘the misguided health and wealth interpretation of the gospels’ (again, albums liner notes):
You say I’ll be successful when my perspiration stops
If I deodorize and sanitize I’ll make it to the top
Everybody’s got to love me if my laundry turns out bright
I’ve got to shave my legs each day, my teeth are shining white
Ad Man, such a bad man
Hiding in your magazine
Ad Man, such a bad, bad man
Sneaks in to your living room
Right through your TV screen
Doug Pinnick receives a songwriting credit on closing cut “I’m Gonna Live”. The six-minute anthem begins to dramatic piano underscoring Hardy’s ‘rap’about confronting a pair of muggers:
Muggers: Hey, hey buddy- you got any cash
Hardy: And I said, not very much
Muggers: Hey we aint’ foolin’- it’s either your money or your life
Hardy: And I said if it’s my money, you can have it, but if its my life, my life belongs to the Lord…
And I’m Gonna Live Forever!
At that point we are off as song dives into its exultant ‘I’m gonna live, I’m gonna live, I’m gonna live forever’ refrain. Verse sections temper to bristling rhythm guitar as Hardy stretches from a soaring vocal standpoint- am I out of line to suggest he is vastly underrated with a hint of Rob Rock? Wright and Spransy sum things up with a stylish lead guitar and organ duel. Needless to say, this one also represents a concert favorite.
In my opinion, Rockin’ Revival features the best combining of production and inspired songwriting to grace a Servant album. It also does not hurt that Rockin’ Revival is also by far the groups heaviest. I value the creativity to individual compositions not to mention straight to the heart lyrics that remain relevant and challenging to this day. If you missed on Servant, Rockin’ Revival is a good introduction to what the group is all about. After close to twenty years, it is overdue for a fresh re-master and reissue.
Review by: Andrew Rockwell
Track Listing: “Babylon” (4:04), “Rockin’ Revival” (4:30), “Isolated” (4:27), “Heidelberg Blues’ (4:12), “Listen” (3:05), “Jealousies” (3:48), “Suburban Josephine” (3:58), “Ad Man” (3:32), “I’m Gonna Live” (5:46)
Musicians
Sandie Brock - Lead Vocals
Bob Hardy - Lead Vocals
Bruce Wright - Guitars
Owen Brock - Guitars
Rob Martens - Bass
Matt Spransy - Keyboards
David Holmes - Drums & Lead Vocals
